Outward Bound in The Cascades

July 20, 2009 06:47 pm

— Levi Humes likes animals. His family’s property is home to pigs, dogs, cats, chickens, goats, turkeys, ducks, pheasants, a miniature horse, donkey, cow and emu.
After spending three weeks among wild creatures like porpoise, seals, bald eagles, river otters and marmots, Humes has come to an even greater understanding of his afinity for animals and nature, one that is nudging him toward a career in the life or environmental sciences.
“It’s kind of steered me more toward the nature/animal path that has always been a passion of mine,” said Humes, summarizing the impact his participation in the Outward Bound program had on his plans.
Outward Bound is a non-profit organization that serves people of all ages and backgrounds through active-learning expeditions that inspire character development, self-discovery and service in and out of the classroom. Participants work in unfamiliar settings that help them realize they can do more than they ever thought possible. It serves about 70,000 students and teachers annually.
A Jefferson Area High School senior, Humes was made aware of Outward Bound in his English class. The program seemed like a good match for Humes, an Eagle Scout and 4-H member.
“I’ve always been an outdoorsy kind of guy and it sounded like a neat experience, being able to learn new things and meet new people,” he said.
With assistance from Bruce Loomis and Humes’ parents, Barry Humes and Annette Paul, Levi was able to join the Northwest Sea Kayaking and Mountaineering adventure in Pugent Sound and the Cascade Range.
Humes said he chose that wilderness exploration program because of the variety it offered.
“I like doing new things,” Humes said. “I was worried if I did the exact same thing for 22 days, I might get a little tired of it.”
Humes prepared physically for the rigors of mountain hiking by walking up and down the grandstand steps at the fairgrounds. His father worked out with him.
“We’d start off going up with our right legs first, then on our left legs first,” he said. The training paid off on the mountain hikes, but he ignored preparing his arms for the demands of kayaking several miles a day.
He left for the adventure June 15 and returned July 6.
On his first day in the program, Humes and the other nine students in his group of six males and four females learned how to kayak in the frigid water of the sound. They had to swim 20 yards in the cold water and purposely flip their kayak over and learn to escape from it, as well as alert others to the accident.
Humes says his actual kayaking went without incident, however. They kayaked between uninhabited islands, camping on a different one each night. While on this segment of the adventure, the students performed service projects, a component of the Outward Bound program.
“Outward Bound is big on service,” said Humes, who has gone on mission trips to West Virginia, Central America and areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. “We tore down an erosion fence and dismantled a hunter’s camp (on a island).”
The group was blessed with unusually dry and warm weather for the Pacific Northwest, with only occasional rain showers.
“Kayaking was pretty nice. The weather was in the 70s but the water was freezing cold,” he said.
The second half of the adventure was in the Cascade Range. The students stored their kayaks then took a five-hour bus drive to the mountains. Wearing packs weighing 50 to 60 pounds each, the students hiked both on and off trails through rugged terrain.
“Somedays, when we were off trail and it was really steep, we’d only go a couple of miles,” he said. “Other days, we’d do six miles in one day.”
They ascended Gopher Peak, 8,000 feet, and Emerald Peak, 8,500 feet. The ascent included going up some rock faces with ropes, an exercise that required Humes to push himself like never before.
“I was proud of myself for sticking with it,” he said of the climb. “It was a really fun experience.”
A period of solo time, in which the student is left alone in the wilderness with only a tarp and small supply of water, nuts, raisins and crackers, is a part of every adventure. During that time, the student does a lot of thinking and writing in his or her journal.
“It was really neat, having time to reflect,” he said. “I had a nice view. I was a little bored at first; the worst thing was the flies. For some reason, the flies were terrible. Every time I got out of my sleeping bag, I was attacked by a swarm of flies.”
Another part of the program was taking responsibility for different jobs within the group. It might be serving as the student leader, journalist, naturalist or cook for the day.
“It made you responsible. If you were the cook that night and you didn’t cook on time, they didn’t get to eat,” he said.
On the subject of food, Humes said one of the adjustments he had to make on the trip was the diet, which was heavy on oatmeal, pasta, and beans and rice.
Back home, Humes has returned to working with his animals, which he missed while on the adventure. He raised a market hog for 4-H and is a member of a canine 4-H club and the Junior Fair Board. He plays trombone in the high school marching band, which begins daily practices at the end of this month. After all his hiking in the Cascade Range, band practice ought to be a snap.
Humes said he is just beginning to think about college and where to apply. His Outward Bound adventure is sure to provide him some guidance in that process.
“I have nothing bad to say about the program,” he said.

online:outwardbound.org

Photos

LEVI HUMES SEVERAL PEAKS in The Cascade Mountains were climbed by the nine members of the Outward Bound group that Levi Humes recently hiked and kayaked with. The Jefferson Area High School senior took the top photograph from a vantage point near his ?olo?site, where he camped alone for 48 hours.